I don’t claim to be a music expert, but I’m very passionate about it. I like what I like – it’s not all mainstream, so a lot of the bands on this list may be head scratchers for casual fans. That’s okay though, right? You may be learning about ten brand new bands! The one thing I noticed the most when building my list this time around is that there isn’t much variety. Sure, there’s one or two unexpected surprises, but for the most part, my top ten leans heavily in the punk and ska music genres. There were a lot of other types of music in 11 – 20, but I’m not going that deep this time around (sorry!).

So, without further delay, here is my Top 10 albums from 2014. A list curated over hours and hours of listening throughout 2014. While I listened to lots of music last here, the list below represents what stuck with me the most.

My awesome MS Paint logo for this blog post!

10. The Smith Street Band – Throw Me in the River

I’ve been hooked on these guys ever since they opened for Frank Turner. The musical arrangements are pretty intricate given they fit in that punk – alt folk hybrid area. A lot of the songs on this album actually remind me of something Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band would release. If you like Bruce Springsteen, punk rock, and The Gaslight Anthem, The Smith Street Band may just become your new favorite band.

9. Modern Baseball – You’re Gonna Miss it All

This album clocks in at 30 minutes, but it’s 30 minutes not wasted. Filled with a nice blend of quirky indie pop and emo, You’re Gonna Miss it All is a fast, fun, frenetic romp. While most of the songs are about relationships and lost love, it’s a blast to listen to. Slightly reminds me of older Get Up Kids.

8. Sage Francis – Copper Gone

When it comes to the indie hip hop genre, Sage Francis is one of the best. I first learned of him when he signed to Epitaph Records and have been hooked ever since. Musically, the album runs the gamut from slam poetry, to fuzzy indie guitars to boom bap. Paired with Sage’s smart lyrics, it makes me wish there wasn’t such a gap in between releases.

7. Die Antwoord – Donker Mag

If you were to ask me in the beginning of the year about Die Antwoord, I wouldn’t know who or what you were talking about. I don’t even remember how they got on my radar, but once they were it was like a bad car accident – no matter how hard you try to look away you can’t. I’m hooked. I don’t even like techno, but there’s just something about the songs on Donker Mag that I can’t get enough of.

6. Vic Ruggiero – THIS

When Vic isn’t fronting my favorite band of all time – The Slackers – he works on solo projects that let him explore some of his other musical interests. The Slackers are a hybrid of ska, reggae, rocksteady, soul, and dub. Those influences are scarce on Vic’s solo albums. Instead, you’re treated to folks, roots rock, and Americana. The songs are catchy and a lot of fun (and they help tide me over for the next Slackers album).

5. Lagwagon – Hang

It has been almost a decade since Lagwagon put out an album of all new original material. Their last album was mostly a tribute to the passing of their original drummer. A lot of has happened since Resolve, including the passing of Tony Sly. There’s a song paying tribute to Sly on here, but most of the album takes aim at society and how displeased the band is with the current state of affairs in the world. Hang just further solidifies Lagwagon’s place in the punk rock hall of fame.

4. Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues

A lot has changed with Against Me! since their last album – including lead singer Laura Jane Grace coming out as a transgender woman. A lot of the songs on the album focus on dealing with gender dysphoria, but it doesn’t throw it in your face. The songs are catchy and well-written. While the band’s line-up changed multiple times during the recording of this album, Against Me! sounds reinvigorated on this album. The fact that this album came out in January 2014 and is still in heavy rotation says a lot for me.

3. Deal’s Gone Bad – Heartbreaks & Shadows

Deal’s Gone Bad are equal parts Jamaican reggae and Motown soul. Not bad for a bunch of guys from Chicago. It’s the kind of music that just puts you in a good mood. Another thing that this album does is translate the energy and joy of seeing Deal’s Gone Bad live. Such a great album!

2. Mad Caddies – Dirty Rice

2014 was the year for lots of punk and ska vets to return with new music. The return I was most excited about was Santa Barbara’s Mad Caddies. I’ve loved this band since seeing them play in front of a school bus at the 1998 Van’s Warped Tour. Their sound has evolved immensely since then. Just like the food this album is named after, their music is a mixture of many elements. You’ll hear lots of punk and ska, but there’s an overarching flavor of ragtime, New Orlean’s jazz, Beatles pop, dixie, and dancehall. It’s eclectic, but the kaleidoscope of styles make for a very interesting listen. Plus, this album gets major bonus points for being one of the most requested albums in the car by my four-year-old daughter.

The Lawrence Arms – Metropole

This is the album (and band) that I listened to the most in 2014. Again, this is another album from a veteran band with a long span of time since their last proper release. With such a long time between release, you expect a level of ring rust or sense of feeling dated. This isn’t an issue with Metropole. Instead, it becomes TLA’s maturest album to date. Brendan Kelly turns in his screaming for melodic singing, and the songs are filled with an almost somber and introspective reflection on getting older. As someone who grew up with The Lawrence Arms (and Slapstick before), Metropole is an album that is easy for someone in their mid-thirties to relate to. It’s weird to call a punk rock album beautiful and poetic these days, but Metropole is that in spades.

Following yesterday’s first half of my Top 20 Albums of 2013, I proudly present the best music I listened to this year. Hopefully, you find something you’ll like. Enjoy the second half of my Top 20 Album list.

Music has always been an important part of my life, and while I don’t buy or listen to as many albums as I used to back in the days, I’ve still listened to enough to make the following Top 10 list. You’ll see a few familiar faces on my list that also appeared on many of the national year end lists. There are a few albums we all agree on, but also some that we completely differ on. That’s okay…it’s that difference of opinion that makes the world go round, right?

Before I get started with my list, I must say there are a couple things I needed to touch on first.

1) There were no hip-hop or rap albums that particularly moved me enough to add them to the list this year. Nas was close and P.O.S. made my first draft, but overall the hip-hop community had a pretty mediocre year when it comes to my taste. This is a shame, because I really like that style of music too.

2) I don’t get the appeal with Frank Ocean. His album was just plain boring to me.

3) I don’t like music because it’s trendy or buzz-worthy. These albums are ones that I couldn’t take off repeat this year.

Now that we have all that settled, here are my Top 10 Albums of 2012

10. Chris Richards & The Subtractions – Get Yer La La’s Out

As it just so happens, Chris was featured in last’s week’s Friday Five Questions… feature. I’ve listened to his music for years, and have come to expect certain things from a Subtractions album. Sure, the album met my expectations, but it also surprised me (in a good way). This album doesn’t have the same “power pop” sheen as previous efforts, and the sense of growth shown is amazing.

9. Ben Folds Five – The Sound of The Life of The Mind

It’s been a long time since Ben Folds Five put out an album together. In that time, I’ve grown to like Folds as a solo artist and on his collaboration with author Nick Hornby. Even though I like what Ben has been up to since the last Ben Folds Five album, it’s good to have them back.

8. Green Day – ¡UNO!

Green Day didn’t have to do much to put out an album better than 21st Century Breakdown, but I was pleasantly surprised with their first of three albums this year. The quality got progressively worse with each release, but there’s just something about ¡UNO! that captures the band’s past magic. It’s not epic like American Idiot, but it’s just as fun as any of the albums pre-Idiot. Musically, it fits in nicely with Foxboro Hot Tubs and the Nimrod and Warning era.

7. Reel Big Fish – Candy Coated Fury

Sure they’ve only released greatest hits, cover albums, and live albums lately, but Candy Coated Fury is the first album filled with original material Reel Big Fish has released since 2007.For the most part, this albums sounds like vintage Reel Big Fish. The band’s trademark snark and viciousness is hidden behind the poppy ska punk exterior. They aren’t covering new ground by any means, but it’s a fun listen regardless.

6. P!nk – The Truth About Love

It’s a shame P!nk got her big break with “Get the Party Started” because I think it incorrectly grouped her in with artists like Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, and Britney Spears. Thankfully, she was able to shed that distinction pretty quickly though, because I think she’s one of the most important female vocalists of this generation. The Truth About Love is just another example of her pure fearlessness when it comes to making music. She’s still as aggressive as ever on this album, but there are more tender moments than on previous albums.

5. Hot Water Music – Exister

I’m starting to detect a pattern with a lot of this year’s picks. Whether it’s a return to form like with Green Day and Reel Big Fish, or a return from a long hiatus like Ben Folds Five and Hot Water Music, my Top 10 list seems to be filled with lots of nostalgia this year. On Exister, Hot Water Music offer up a more polished sound than I’m used to from them, but I like it just as much as their older albums on Epitaph. There’s just enough driving punk and post-hardcore sentiments throughout Exister to immediately add it to my favorite albums of this year. A must for Hot Water Music fans.

4. Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten

Brian Fallon and gang come up with another masterpiece. There’s just something about his songwriting and singing that is completely intoxicating. With a nice blend of punk rock and Americana, Gaslight Anthem is one of my favorite bands from the past five years. If they keep pumping out quality music like this, I’m guessing they’ll continue to be held in such high regard by me.

3. Jimmy Cliff – Rebirth

Mark my words, Tim Armstrong and Rebirth will do for Jimmy Cliff what Rick Rubin and the American series did for Johnny Cash. Tim Armstrong probably wouldn’t have been my first choice to produce Jimmy Cliff’s new album, but it works. His love for the genre really shines through on Rebirth. Cliff has had a very long career, but I have no problem saying this is his best album since The Harder They Come. Who knew that one of the founders of Operation Ivy and Rancid would be responsible for the best reggae album I’ve heard in years. In fact, Armstrong is so respectful of Cliff and his talents, if I didn’t know this album came out this year, I would have probably mistaken it for something that came out in the ’70s.

2. fun. – Some Nights

Some Nights is the one album that came out of nowhere for me this year. “We Are Young” was getting played so much that it kind of got stuck in my head. iTunes had the entire album cheap, so I took a chance. As you can see by where fun. landed on my Top 10, that gamble paid off. Sure, the singles are catchy and fun, but the real power of Some Nights is the rest of the album. It’s as epic as any Queen album and yet has a slight hip-hop influence. It’s a fun album to listen to where every track is a sing-a-long.

1. Imagine Dragons – Night Visions

Imagine Dragons put out an EP and an album this year, but since the EP was essentially a sneak peek of what was to come, I’ll focus on the full-length. How did I choose Imagine Dragons over other heavy-hitters on my Top 10 like Gaslight Anthem and fun.? It’s simple, of all the music I listened to most this year, I listened to imagine Dragons the most. “Radioactive” became my go-to song (and easily my favorite song of the year) and the rest of the album is just as amazing. While it’s not a cohesive album in terms of style, Imagine Dragons show off they belong to play the arena circuit sometime soon. Their music may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love them. Night Visions is feel good music in every sense of the word.

And there you have it, there’s my Top 10 List for the Best Albums of 2012.

If I could’ve chosen 11 albums, the following would have made it. As it stands though, it only gets an honorable mention.

Honorable Mention. Classics of Love – S/T

This is a very quick listen, so if you’ve got the time, I recommend it. Classics of Love finds Operation Ivy’s lead singer Jesse Michaels returning to more of a hardcore punk sound. I love his ska songs with Common Rider, but I was beginning to miss that political fury and more aggressive singing. If you want to see that side of Jesse again, look no further. He doesn’t miss a step.